Piston Engine Schematic

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​Note: This is a typical layout of a single engine piston, and some components may not be available/required by different manufacturers!

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For example, some aircraft have primer and no choke or vice versa. The primer and choke work on different principles but serve the same purpose.

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In some engines (such as Rotax), there is no mixture control as the mixture needle is connected to a membrane that automatically adjusts to atmospheric pressure

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• Fuel tanks: Most light aircraft piston engines are fuel fed by gravity, assisted by engine-driven pumps

• Fuel selector: Displays the active fuel tank in use

• Auxiliary fuel pump: Manually activated fuel pump to increase fuel pressure during maneuvres/take-off/landings

• Engine-driven fuel pump:  Connected to the camshaft and pumps fuel toward the carburetor

• Mixture control: Controls the fuel-to-air ratio to maintain the optimal engine efficiency at different altitudes

• Choke: Restricts air and enriches the fuel-to-air ratio for cold starts

• Engine primer: Sprays fuel into the piston cylinders and enriches the fuel-to-air ratio for cold starts

• Cylinder head temperature gauges: Thermocouples are installed in the cylinder to monitor the temperature

• Exhaust gas temperature gauge: Used alongside the mixture control to determine the optimum fuel-air mixture

• Carburetor heat: Auxiliary control to redirect exhaust air to melt ice in case of carburetor icing at the venturi or throttle valve